Probably the largest part of his written legacy, Aby Warburgs letters were an important means to forging his theory of images. - [Rezension]

The review emphasises the high relevance of Warburg's correspondence and praises the present edition of around 7% of the surviving letters and, above all, the authors' competent and well-researched commentaries on the individual letters. The review concludes: ”The letters reflect Warburg’s belief that images should create a certain distance between mankind and the world of objects in order to ensure a conceptual space for reflection (Denkraum der Besonnenheit). This conviction, rooted in nineteenth-century cultural anthropology and philosophy, forms the basis of Warburg’s theory of images and finds particularly vivid expression in his candid letters.”